Paint mixer



Feb. 1, 1955 A. J. LOVE 2,701,131

PAINT MIXER Filed Aug. 1, 1952 INVENTOR.

ARTHUR J. LOVE ATTORNEY United States Patent PAINT MIXER Arthur J. Love, Denver, Colo.

Application August 1, 1952, Serial No. 302,168

Claims. (Cl. 259-126) This invention relates to rotary type mixers, and more particularly to such mixers adapted to agitate and thoroughly blend the partially-separated constituents of previously-prepared liquid compositions, such as paint, and has as an object to provide an improved such mixer characterized by rapidity and efliciency of operation.

A further object of the invention is to provide an improved rotary type mixer adapted for the blending of heavy liquids, such as paint, wherein the mixing head is susceptible of altitudinal play incidental to its rotation.

A further object of the invention is to provide an improved rotary type mixer adapted for the blending of heavy liquids wherein the rotatively-driven mixer head is automatically altitudinally reciprocated for enhanced agitative effect in reaction to the resistance of the materials being mixed.

A further object of the invention is to provide an improved head drive for a rotary type mixer operable to altiudinally reciprocate said head in reaction to the resistance of the materials being mixed during and as an incident of head rotation.

A further object of the invention is to provide an improved rotary type mixer for the blending of paints, and the like, that is simple and inexpensive of production, installation and use, that is adapted to be variously powered, and that is highly efficient in attainment of the ends for which designed.

With the foregoing and other objects in view, my invention consists in the construction, arrangement, and combination of elements as hereinafter set forth, pointed out in my claims, and illustrated by the accompanying drawings, in Which Figure 1 is a side elevation of a practical embodiment of the invention adapted to be powered by compressed air and as arranged ready for use, the container for the liquids to be mixed being shown in vertical section.

Figure 2 is a vertical section, on a relatively enlarged scale, taken axially of the organization according to Figure 1, the container, mixer head, and lower portion of the mixer head stem being omitted.

Figure 3 is a transverse section taken substantially on the indicated line 33 of Figure 2.

Figure 4 is a fragmentary, detail elevation, partly in section, of elements of the organization as viewed from the zone indicated by the line 4-4 of Figure 3.

As is well known, prepared paints and analogous compositions tend to a separation of their constituents after standing Without agitation and are slow and diflicult to reblend preliminary to their use. The paint constituents compacted upon standing resist disintegration attempted by hand facilities and rotary stirrers and are very slow to yield to rotary influences alone, but such compacted settlings are quickly and effectively dispersed by a proper combination of stirring and altiudinally agitating influences, hence the instant invention is directed to the provision of a mixer characterized by a rotational stirring action productive of a concomitant altitudinal agitating action automatically developed in reaction to the resistance of the materials subject to stirring.

As shown, a generally-cylindrical housing adapted to be fixedly mounted with its axis vertical by any expedient means (not shown) accommodates a rotor 11 concentrically revoluble therein on anti-friction bearings 12. While the rotor 11 may be revolubly driven in any appropriate or desired manner, it is shown as adapted to be powered by compressed air, for which purpose like vanes 13 outstand in a uniform angular spacing from and peripherally about the rotor 11 within and for rotation relative to an annular chamber 14 expanded radially from a lower portion of the housing 10, and compressed air infiow jets 15 open tangentially to said chamber in spaced relation with exhaust ports 16 opening through the chamber wall, so that inflow of air under pressure through the jets 15 impinges against and effects rotation of the vanes 13, and the rotor 11 to which said vanes attach, through the chamber arc separating each jet 15 from its exhaust port 16.

An annular boss 17 upstands concentrically from and in fixed relation with the rotor 11 upper surface and hat its upper margin spiraled, or cammed, to provide a ci cular track 18 inclining upward from a low point at" jacent the rotor upper surface to a high point angularly adjacent said low point and including a steeply-pitched incline 19 connecting the said high and low points, thw to complete a slow-acting, quick-return, circular car-.1. An axial bore through the rotor 11 in registration with an aperture in the bottom of the housing 10 loosely accommodates a rigid, cylindrical stem 20 from which a stud 21 mounting a roller 22 fixedly and radially extends across the upper margin of the boss 17 to engage said roller 22 with the cam track 18 of said boss and consequently to determine the axial displacement of the stem 20 relative to the rotor 11. The housing 10 closes over and spacedly above the boss 17 and is formed with an annular, internally-threaded flange 23 upstanding therefrom in concentric relation with the rotor and its boss 17, and an axially-socketed, externally-threaded plug 24 is engaged in and with said flange with the plug open end directed inwardly of the housing in position to slidably receive the upper end of the stem 20; the depth of the plug 24 socket being adequate to accommodate axial play of said stem exceeding the cam track 18 rise between the high and low points of the boss 17 upper margin. Washers 25 on the stem 20 within the socket of the boss 17 bear against the end of a collar 26 held to the stem by the stud 21 in spaced opposition to the inner end of the plug 24, and an expansive coil spring 27 surrounds the upper end of the stem 20 in end-bearing engagement between said washers and the inner end of said plug, thus to urge the roller 22 to its seat on the cam track 18 with a yielding pressure susceptible of adjustment by means of plug 24 rotation in its threaded relation with the flange 23 The stem 20 extends below the housing 10 a distance adequate to altitudinally traverse a typical, conveniently conventional container 28 charged with the materials to be mixed or blended, and at its lower end said stem fixedly mounts a cross-head 29, of any appropriate form and construction, wherewith may be associated agitating and mixing elements, such as chain lengths 30 trailing drags 31, to complete a mixing head on and in driven relation with said stem.

In the operation of the improvement, the container 28 with its charge is positioned to engage the stem 20 axially therewithin and to dispose the cross-head 29 in a moderate spacing above the container bottom, whereupon power applied to revolve the rotor 11 acts to rotate the boss 17 and its cam track 18 wherewith the roller 22 is engaged under the pressure of the spring 27. When the container 28 charge offers little resistance to rotational stirring action of the mixing head, as when the materials of the charge are thin and well blended or when the head is immersed in the lighter materials of a partially-separated mixture, the pressure of the spring 27 is, or may be adjusted to be, adequate to hold the roller 22 at and for rotation with the low point of the cam track, thus rotatively driving the stem 20 and its mixing head for stirring of the container charge in an obvious manner. When, however, the resistance of the materials to stirring action is considerable, such resistance reflected through the mixing head and stem 20 retards rotation of said stem and permits the rotating cam track 18 of the boss 17 to travel relative to the roller 22, thus elevating the stem and its mixing head against the pressure of the spring 27, and relative to the container charge, until said roller passes the cam track high point and drops along the incline 19 to initiate a repetition of the stem 20 altitudinal reciprocatory cycle. Thus, when the mixing head is engaged with the compacted or heavier constituents of the charge to be mixed, the stern action is a combination of rotary stirring effect and altitudinal agitation which effectively and rapidly disperses the materials to be blended until, as blending progresses and resistance to rotation of the mixing head lessens, altitudinal agitation of the stem abates and said stem revolves with the rotor 11 for simple rotational stirring effect manifest at the mixing head. With the selective adjustment of spring 27 pressure available through the plug 24, control of the incidence, frequency, and duration of stem 20 altitudinal agitation in relation to a given charge to be stirred and blended is immediate and convenient.

Since changes, variations, and modifications in the form, construction, and arrangement of the elements shown and described may be had without departing from the spirit of my invention, I wish to be understood as being limited solely by the scope of the appended claims, rather than by any details of the illustrative showing and foregoing description.

I claim as my invention:

1. A mixer of the character described comprising a rotor revoluble about a vertical axis and having an upwardly facing annular track therefor, means for driving said rotor, a stem coaxially traversing said rotor for free rotation and reciprocation relative thereto, a mixer head on the lower end of said stem, means radially of said stem engageable with said annular track to limit downward travel of the stem relative to the rotor, spring means urging said stem to such downward travel limit, whereby to frictionally interengage the rotor and stem for simultaneous rotation, and as an incident of rotor revolution, to altitudinally reciprocate said stem in reaction and at a rate proportional to resistances impeding stem rotation.

2. A mixer of the character described comprising a rotor revoluble about a vertical axis and having an upwardly facing annular track therefor, means for driving said rotor, a stem coaxially traversing said rotor for free rotation and reciprocation relative thereto, a mixer head on the lower end of said stern, a stud fixed radially of said stem above the rotor and engageable with said annular track to limit downward travel of the stern, spring means urging said stud against the rotor, whereby to frictionally interengage the rotor and stem for simultaneous rotation, and as an incident of rotor revolution, to altitudinally reciprocate said stem in reaction and at a rate proportional to resistances impeding stem rotation.

3. A mixer of the character described comprising a rotor revoluble about a vertical axis, means for driving said rotor, a stem coaxially traversing said rotor for free rotation and reciprocation relative thereto, a mixer head on the lower end of said stem, an annular boss fixedly upstanding from said rotor concentrically about said stem, a roller-equipped stud fixed radially of said stern above and engageable against the upper margin of said boss to limit downward travel of said stem, spring means urging the stud roller against the boss upper margin, whereby to frictionally interengage the rotor and stem for simultaneous rotation, and a spirally-cammed upper margin on said boss effective through the stud and its roller as an incident of rotor revolution to altitudinally reciprocate said stem in reaction and at a rate proportional to resistances impeding stem rotation.

4. A mixer of the character described comprising a housing, a rotor revoluble in said housing about a vertical axis, means for driving said rotor, a stem coaxially traversing said rotor for free rotation and reciprocation relative thereto and extending below said housing, a mixer head on the lower end of said stem, a socket for the free accommodation of the stern upper end on and adjustable altitudinally of the housing, an annular boss fixedly upstanding from said rotor concentrically about said stem, at roller-equipped stud fixed radially of said stem above and engageable against the upper margin of said boss to limit downward travel of the stem, spring means engaged between elements of the stem and the inner end of said socket to yieldably and adjustably urge the stud roller against the boss upper margin, whereby to frictionally interengage the rotor and stem for simultaneous rotation, and a spirally-cammed upper margin on said boss effective through the stud and its roller as an incident of rotor revolution to altitudinally reciprocate said stem in reaction and at a rate proportional to resistances impeding stem rotation.

5. In a mixer of the character described having a rotor revoluble about a vertical axis, means for driving said rotor, a stem coaxially through the rotor for free rotation and reciprocation relative thereto, and a mixer head on the lower end of said stem, means frictionally interengaging said stem and rotor for simultaneous rotation and automatically effective to altitudinally reciprocate said stem in reaction and at a rate proportional to resistances impeding stern rotation, said means comprising an annular boss fixedly upstanding from the rotor concentrically about said stem, a roller-equipped stud fixed radially of said stem above and engageable against the upper margin of said boss, spring means yieldably urging the stud roller against the boss upper margin, and a spirally-cammed upper margin on said boss.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 504,912 Demonet Sept. 12, 1893 636,737 Bagley Nov. 7, 1899 1,181,973 Tyson May 2, 1916 2,020,878 Doering Nov. 12, 1935 

